How many donuts? UPDATE in original post w/ final outcome

[spwspw]

DD wants donuts instead of cake for her bday party. There will be 25 kids and 28 adults. How many donuts would you order? I’m fine with ordering one per person, but I’m wondering the likelihood that all the adults will eat one. I don’t want to be stuck with a couple dozen leftover.

FWIW, I think I’m still scarred from DD’s last bday party with roughly the same number of guests. I ordered something like 10 pizzas and had about 5 totally uneaten.


Update: The donut place threw in an extra half dozen, so I had a total of 56 donuts and 4 dozen donut holes. There were about 15 donuts and couple dozen donut holes leftover. The kids were scrambling to take them home, even though a lot of the parents were protesting. I gave some to the people working the party, and took a few home for my kids to have for breakfast.

Stay tuned... my son wants cookies instead of cake for his 6th birthday next month, I'm sure I'll be posting asking how many cookies to order.

[minionkevin]

My inclination is like 8-9 dozen donuts (1 slice of cake equaling about 2 donuts in my mind) but 7 is probably sufficient.

[gummybear]

I would get one per person. Adults are going to be all "oh, I don;t want a donut" and cut them in half but some kids will eat more than one. It will even out.

[hocus2]

How are you planning to serve this? Will be it be put on plates or off on a table for folks to take if they want?

You could probably do a bit less than 53 but I'd probably order 55 just to be certain that anyone who wanted on had one.

[spwspw]

Oct 26, 2018 14:58:26 GMT -5 hocus2 said:

How are you planning to serve this? Will be it be put on plates or off on a table for folks to take if they want?

You could probably do a bit less than 53 but I'd probably order 55 just to be certain that anyone who wanted on had one.

We’re going to do it in lieu of cake, so it’ll be served at the end of the party on plates.

[lolo]

I would probably order enough for one per person plus extras and then have take home bags if it looks like I'll lend up with too many leftovers.

[isabel]

I would order 5 dozen. That's going to leave you with one per person, plus a few extra, just in case some want more than one.

[jinkies]

5 dozen.

You could also probably get away with 3 dozen plus a few dozen donut holes, since I feel like adults are more likely to pick at a few holes as opposed to taking an entire donut themselves.

And I feel you on the pizzas. I ordered a similar number for my daughter's birthday last weekend, and had a similar amount left over. It was really hard to predict how many adults were actually coming and how much they would actually eat (answers: way fewer adults than I thought, and they ate virtually nothing).

[icedcoffee]

Oct 26, 2018 15:08:50 GMT -5 isabel said:

I would order 5 dozen. That's going to leave you with one per person, plus a few extra, just in case some want more than one.

This exactly.

[cmeon]

It's not trauma to have too much food- but, it's trauma to not have enough. Order at least 6 dozen, so you can offer one to everyone- 7-8 dozen if you're going with less "safe" flavors.

It's not hard to get rid of extra donuts- you can send them home with people, give them to neighbors, drive them to the firestation- put them on a table with a "free donuts!" sign at the street- ha- seriously, no sweat.

[HRH Queen Dick I, Orphan]

Scimping on donuts has me near tears. Please don't do that to your guests.

[Leeham Rimes]

I’ve seen adults eat 3 in a sitting at church/parties/.hotel buffets so I’d do 1 per person (and maybe an extra dozen just to be safe but I tend to over order) Donuts go faster than cake or pizza bc—-donuts.

[lust2hart]

Oct 26, 2018 15:11:39 GMT -5 icedcoffee said:

Oct 26, 2018 15:08:50 GMT -5 isabel said:

I would order 5 dozen. That's going to leave you with one per person, plus a few extra, just in case some want more than one.

This exactly.

Yep. Assuming someone in your family works outside the home, you can easily take leftovers to work! 

[orval]

Oct 26, 2018 15:12:28 GMT -5 HRH Queen Dick I, Orphan said:

Scimping on donuts has me near tears. Please don't do that to your guests.

Ditto -- and my kid would eat at least 2 maybe 3, if they are available.  
I like the donut goody bag idea too, if there are leftovers.  Send them home for breakfast.  

[Nonny]

What kind of monster doesn't eat an entire donut?

I'd get at least 5-6 dozen, plus donut holes, and eat 2 donuts myself.

[cabbagecabbage]

6 dozen donuts. We did donuts for DS this year and ordered 2 dozen for 5 kids and 6 adults and it was perfect. Plus, two dozen special ordered delicious donuts from our fancy grocery store was $14. Way cheaper than cake!

And yes, you run a slight risk of over buying but imagine not having enough. Of all the times to splurge, birthday treats are near the top.

[krystee]

I'd get at least five dozen, possibly six, and drop any untouched doughnuts at a fire station on the way home or leave it for staff at the party place.

[goldengirlz]

It’s funny how one day we’re talking about Switch Witches and parents literally bribing their kids not to eat candy, and the next day we’re talking about kids eating multiple donuts at parties.

I’m getting whiplash.

[dexteroni]

I’m clearly an outlier here but I would order at least 2 per person. If I’m hosting a party, I err on the side of generous quantities. Ordering less than one per person is terrible etiquette IMO. Buy a pack of little containers and send the leftovers home, or donate them like someone else said.

[yourmother]

I would order one per person and then have a ton of extra donut holes. Yum.

[litebright]

I thought this was going to be, like, an existential question and was going to answer, "As many as I want."

But I would probably go with six dozen, or five dozen plus donut holes.

[jigsy]

What kind of donuts are we talking. Standard glazed? maybe 1.25 - 1.5 per person. Fancy filled/covered - 1 pp

I feel like you are more likely to have people who eat more than one donut with a simple glazed. Fancy custard filled or maple frosting or what have you is a bit more filling, so one pp would be good.

[pooh8402]

I would want to eat like 3 just for myself, so I would probably order at least 2 per person.

[meganew]

I would over order. In case there’s anyone there like me, who would eat all the donuts.

[ECB]

Part of this is what kind of donuts are you talking about. Dunkin Donuts- they are on the smaller side and I could easily eat 2 of them. But there are places around here that sell HUGE donuts and I can only eat 1. So.... that plays a role here.

But assuming you're tlaking more Dunkin Donut type donuts, I'd get 6 dozen at least. I know you don't want a ton of leftovers but as stated above, there are many ways to get rid of leftovers. I'd much rather have that problem than run short!

[lostrn]

My kid who has zero appetite 99% of the time will polish off 3 donuts in one sitting. Seriously DS and DH will get a dozen donuts on a Saturday morning and by Sunday morning there might be one left, and I usually only get one lol. So I would probably order 2 per person at least.

[docholly]

You always need at least one per person for dessert. Then, I would do a dozen extra. Some people will eat more... someone will drop their donut.

[readyin07]

Absolutely 5 dozen at minimum and possibly 6. Doughnuts are not expensive so just get them and give away extras if need be. I always overorder for parties. My girlfriend is a notorious cheaper outer and I remember a party at the bounce house place where very few adults got served during prime lunch time :/ I did not get served and I did not like it lol.

[tacokick]

One per person. No one wants half a doughnut or to have to share with someone. Plus you can probably get a discount if you buy a lot. My bakery offers a free dozen any kind if you buy 5 dozen so I would do that. Get an assortment too. No one wants plain glazed and most places charge the same no matter what the flavor.

[tacokick]

You can always make doughnut bread pudding with the leftovers! I haven’t tried it but my friend swears it’s awesome.